Video is far from being the new kid on the block. Communication pros have used it for years in client work. What has changed is the ease of creating and distributing video. While produced videos remain a valuable tool, the ability to create video with little more than a smartphone has opened up new avenues for incorporating it into your business strategy. You may be rocking video for your work with clients but uncertain of how to leverage the power of video for yourself. Whether you are time-starved, or just timid about the tactic, in this post, we share 5 ways you can add lights, camera, action to your marketing.
Email marketing. Email marketing remains a good way to nurture relationships with clients and prospective clients. Adding video to your content mix is another way to deepen engagement and connect to your subscribers. In fact, according to a study from Animoto “76.5% of the professional marketers and SMB owners that have used video marketing said it had a direct impact on their business.” If you need more proof, according to Hubspot, using video in email can increase your clickthrough rate 200% to 300%.
Solo pros can use video to move prospective clients to take an action, such as signing up for a short phone consult or downloading a case study. However, you do not even have to use original video to get these results. Share a video related to your topic or a video that inspires you. Remember this one from Randy Pausch?
Explainer videos. Brands have long used explainer videos in product sales but they also have value for service businesses. Use an explainer video to explain a process, such as the steps in developing a crisis communication plan. Breaking down a process allows you to demonstrate your expertise and can be one more tool in your marketing arsenal. Freshbooks does a nice job of storytelling in their explainer video.
Many explainer videos use animation but Blue Jeans Network uses a combination of people and graphics in their explainer video.
The key to a good explainer video is to pace it properly so that your audience does not get bored. Write a script, 200-250 words should be all that you need, so that you can practice before shooting.
Corporate overview. Develop a video to tell your company story. According to UnBounce, video increases landing page conversion by a whopping 80%. A video allows your prospect to make a more personal connection and see you in action.
Solo PR Pro Premium Member, Tim O’Brien uses a whiteboard video to tell his company story. While Tim has incredible video skills, you can create whiteboard videos with an app such as Videoscribe Anywhere for iOS or VideoScribe Now for Android.
Promote your content. You know that you can repurpose written content as a video, but you can also use video to promote that content. This is a great use for live video and gives you a springboard to jump start conversation around your written content. For example, you can take the topic of a blog post and pose a related question to your video audience. The live discussion is an opportunity to create interest in your post with audience participation. Conversely, you can write a post, or case study inspired by a live video session. In either scenario, you can use video to deepen or extend the conversation.
Client information. This video from Old Republic National Title Insurance Company is a good example of using video to provide information rather than selling. Solo pros could use this approach for client onboarding. Try using video to teach clients (and prospects) what to expect when planning an event, or launching a media relations campaign. What I love about this approach is that it feels natural to communication consultants and is one more way to demonstrate thought leadership.
These are endless ways to integrate video into your own marketing this year, from thought leadership to client testimonials. If you’ve been sitting on the sidelines, why not test drive one or two of these ideas? You can’t succeed until you try!
Are you using video in your marketing? If not, what's holding you back? Please share in the comments!
Great stuff, Video and PR are an amazing combo as we (and our clients) know all too well!
Combined with Facebook targeting algo can lead to great results.
We’ve found that a mix of old tools (Animoto) and new tools (Slide.ly/promo) helped reshape the ways we used videos (X4 more in particular;-) combined with #1 of targeting – really count us among the video obsessed marketers, and prob even more going into 2017!
Thanks for sharing, enjoy the week!
Mel